Karma Trinley became a Tibetan Buddhist monk at age 17 and began to study within the Kagyu lineage.

At around age 30, he began to have powerful visions and spiritual experiences in his meditations. On a pilgrimage to a holy mountain, he is said to have encountered a protective spirit that profoundly influenced him.

Karma Trinley later became a master of the Vajrayogini tradition, which emphasizes the feminine energies of realization.

He founded a monastery and spent the last years of his life in retreat, meditating and writing.